The Brainbooster – Bob Royak
Karl Morris was joined by US Senior Amateur champion Bob Royak on his Brainbooster podcast to discuss a variety of topics and how The Lost Art of Putting helped his game.
Does the swing create the shot or does the shot create the swing?
This is a question I asked to conclude my last article. For those of you who read it, what was your answer? For those of you who didn’ read it, please think about that question for a minute.
I ask all the golfers I work with, regardless of their current playing ability and experience in the game that very question. More often than not, the response is “Well without a swing, there can’t be a shot.” Seems logical enough right? On the surface, yes but if we dig a little deeper, that answer doesn’t really make any sense.
When you hit your drive down the first fairway, (as you always do…) you get to your ball, use your laser, gps or if you grew up caddying like I did, you refer to your yardage book and figure out how far you have to the green and or flag. Distance measured, you then ask yourself, “What is the shot here? What does the ball need to do to reach my intended target?” You then choose a club appropriate for that particular shot.
If you are asking “What do I need to do or what does my swing have to do?, trust me, you are in for a long and difficult day. Without a very clear intention for the shot you are faced with, without a very clear intention for what you want the ball to do, how can you possibly even begin to make a swing? Can you see where I am going with this?
Now think about your current practice or playing processes. When you go to the range, are you creating shots or are you working on your swing, working on your technique? Is your focus or attention on what you need to do, what the club needs to do or what the ball needs to do?
Popular wisdom and the traditional golf coaching culture would have you believe that if you make a “good swing” you will hit a good shot. That being the case, you probably get your gadgets and training aids out and start working on the latest magic move that will change your world as a golfer.
– Make sure you are aligned square to your target.
– Check your ball position.
– Check your grip is neutral.
– Good posture.
– One piece takeaway.
– Cock your wrists.
– Turn your shoulders or thorax.
– Resist with your hips or pelvis.
– Check that your club is “in the slot” at the top of your backswing.
– Start the downswing with your hips.
– Pull down with your lead hand.
– Create lots of lag just like the Tour Pros do.
– Use the ground to create energy.
– Transfer your weight.
– Stay in balance.
– Release the club.
– Don’t lift your head.
– Follow through.
– Hold your finish.
– Damn! Sliced it again!
Sound familiar? If so, then you probably believe that the swing creates the shot. Why do you believe this? Simply because that is how the vast majority of golfers are taught. I didn’t say everyone because there are some fantastic golf coaches out there who understand that golf is about creating shots, not making golf swings.
As the late, great John Jacobs used to say, “Golf is all about what you do with the ball.”
Think about other ball sports. When we watch or play football, tennis, rugby, cricket or squash, we are paying attention to the ball. Of course we are, why wouldn’t you? So why is it that when we watch or play golf, we obsess about technique? Largely because the culture of coaching suggests we do just that.
If you want to play better golf and have more fun in the process, get creative with your shots. If you don’t practice or train shots in cross winds, shots off downhill, uphill or side hill lies, don’t be surprised if you can’t hit these shots when you encounter them on the golf course.
Is it possible you could play a variety of different shots from different lies? Absolutely, but only if you train for that inevitability.
Next time you play, use the golf course as a training ground rather than a proving ground. Forget about your score for once and focus on creating the shots that the golf course designer asks of you.
You never know, you might just enjoy the experience and play better than you ever imagined.
Challenge the culture of coaching and learn to play golf again
All too often I hear of golf clubs closing down and participation numbers being in decline. But why is this happening?
There are numerous reasons but one of the main culprits is slow play. Golf takes too long to play. Five hour rounds are apparently the norm in today’s world.
As a junior golfer, if we took more than three hours to complete 18 holes, committee members would organise a search party.
It might be harsh to say it’s killing the game but it’s certainly playing its part. However, I don’t believe that slow play alone is responsible for people giving up.
Recent studies conducted in Sweden would suggest that people stop playing golf because they simply aren’t getting any better. They were taking lessons, hitting balls on the range, putting in the hours but were seeing little reward for their efforts.
Thankfully, the Swedish Golf Federation and Swedish PGA recognised this and have since done something about it. After much deliberation, the PGA reassessed their coaching programmes and as a result, more people are taking up the game but more importantly, they are staying in the game.
Why? Essentially, they are playing better and having more fun.
Think for a minute why you play golf and what got you interested in the first place.
People’s reasons might vary slightly but I’m pretty sure that fun and enjoyment of the game as well as embracing all the challenges it throws at us as golfers will probably be fairly high on your list.
Hitting great shots is fun. We all enjoy that feeling of a well-struck shot and derive immense pleasure from watching our ball soar down the middle of the fairway or land on the green and finish close to the flag.
Golf courses and their designers constantly ask us if we can hit this shot or that. No golf course or its designer ever asks where the club is at the top of your backswing or where your right elbow is at the halfway point in your downswing.
That being the case, why do golfers the world over spend an incredible amount of time working to improve what their swing looks like?
Traditionally we’ve all been led to believe that if we make a good swing, we will play great golf. Sound familiar? Then why is it that sometimes when you feel like you’ve made your best swing of the day, you look up only to see your ball flying over the out of bounds posts?
For way too long, the culture of coaching has become overly technical, placing a disproportionate amount of focus on the golf swing rather than the golf shot.
Having coached all standards of golfers around the world for the best part of 30 years, I have seen far too many examples of people working tirelessly on their swings with little or no awareness of where the ball is going. There may be more pointless and ridiculous pursuits but I can’t think of many.
I have even heard players and coaches alike saying: “It doesn’t matter where the ball is going, your swing looks so much better.” Really? It doesn’t matter where the ball is going?
Ultimately, the shot has to come first. Golf is all about creating shots, not making ‘perfect’ golf swings – whatever that looks like.
Now there are very few golfers on the planet who haven’t gone in search of technical perfection at some point. There are however, a vast number who have been driven crazy in their quest. While their swings may look better, their ability to create the desired shot at the right time has at best stagnated and more often than not, deteriorated.
When you focus on things like your hip rotation, where your left knee is pointing or whether your left wrist is cupped or bowed at the top of the backswing, you become almost totally disconnected from the task at hand. The task being to hit the ball from where you are, to where you want it to go.
And that is not just my opinion. There is an abundance of scientific research to verify that statement. What a golf swing looks like is nowhere near as important as how it functions.
Just look at the swings of the top 20 players in the world. There is one thing they have in common – they are all very, very different. Their shots may look similar but their golf swings most certainly do not. Yet the culture of coaching would have us believe that we have to swing the club in a particular way.
You only need to take a quick glance on the internet and you’ll find an extraordinary amount of information on how to swing the golf club, most of which is conflicting and as a result, confusing. Very little attention is paid to what the ball does or indeed needs to do.
This doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. It never has and never will.
The longer we continue with this culture and belief system, the more we run the risk of losing an ever increasing numbers of golfers and golf clubs.
However, if we follow our Swedish compatriots and start to pay more attention to what we want the ball to do, rather than what our swings look like, we could actually attract more new golfers and retain the interest of existing players.
I honestly believe a cultural shift could make this great game more popular than ever but if we carry on as we are, golfers in all four corners of the globe will become disheartened, lose interest and ultimately find something else to do with their leisure time.
Golf should be fun and interesting. All the best golf courses are fun to play and ask interesting questions of us as golfers.
What do you find fun and interesting, making nice swings or creating good shots?
Does the swing create the shot or does the shot create the swing?
I’ll leave you to think about that. Until next time.
Perfect swing? Tiger doesn’t fall into that trap and neither should you
I recently had a wonderful conversation with Martin Hall when I interviewed him for my brain booster podcast. For those who don’t know Martin, he is a superb instructor who has received numerous awards for his teaching.
What struck me above anything else was how much passion he still has to improve as a coach. He told me of the thousands of books and videos he has in his library at home. It is a measure of the man that he still has this desire after all these years. He doesn’t approach it from the tiresome standpoint of “I’ve heard it all before”.
The list of people Martin has gotten to know over the years is a veritable who’s who of the greatest names in the game. On this list is a certain 15-time major champion, Tiger Woods. Martin discusses knowing Tiger reasonably well and describes attending many of his golf clinics. Always keen to learn, Martin would ask the great man as many questions as possible when the moment was right.
One particular insight was fascinating. He said Tiger always warms up with four wedge shots to no particular location but thereafter, every single shot he hits has a specific shape and trajectory. High and low, fade and draw, bullet straight.
What Tiger clearly realises when he is about to go and play is the game is about the shots you hit and not the swings you make.
At the end of every competitive round you play, you will be asked a simple and direct question. How many shots did you take? Not, how many swings did you make?
I think we have all fallen into this trap over the years in the search for perfect technique and a belief that if we can just swing the club in a specific way, the shots will automatically follow.
If there is one thing I am certain of now after more than 30 years of coaching, it is that this is a fool’s errand.
We will never have our swing exactly how we want it. There will always be something going on that doesn’t feel quite right. However, this doesn’t mean we can’t play good golf.
In the new book I have co-written with Gary Nicol, The Lost Art of Playing Golf, we explore this concept in great detail, asking the fundamental question: does the swing create the shot or does the shot create the swing?
In our opinion it has to be the shot that creates the swing. Until you decide what shot you intend to play then how can you create a swing. When you have a crystal clear intention of what you want the ball to do then your body will have a ‘map’ to follow.
Of course, we are not saying all you have to do is see a draw and it will magically happen. You still need the guidance of a coach as to how you apply club to ball to create certain shapes. But what we are saying is that unless you decide what shot you want to hit, all of the ‘swing work’ can and often does become futile.
When you ask the question, ‘what is wrong with my shots?’ as opposed to, ‘what is wrong with my swing?’ we believe you can make real progress.
Tiger clearly identifies the shots he has in his warm up that day. You can bet if he is struggling to play a draw but is hitting the fade nicely, that is what he will ‘play’ with on the course.
You may not have a perfect swing today but virtually every golfer has some shots they can execute. Yes, at times it may not be pretty but it’s about making the most of what you have on this unique day in your life. Every golfer knows what felt wonderful and silky yesterday can feel a totally different motion today.
Try Tiger’s approach to warming up. Use the shots you have instead of being tied up in knots chasing technical perfection. Who knows? You might just play better.
Is it really worth the effort?
There will inevitably be times in our lives, when we ask ourselves the question “is it really worth the effort?” Whether that relates to golf, business or relationships, it is an exceptionally important question.
We have all at certain times, vowed to commit more time and effort to improving our golf games.
- Must go to the range twice a week.
- Must make time to play more than once a week.
- Must drag myself to the gym more often.
Even if we do stay true to these commitments, in the hope and belief we will see the benefits through lower scores, the time and effort we put in doesn’t always guarantee the results we think we deserve.
You work hard, hit hundreds of balls and practice your short game. Three or six months down the line, there is no real noticeable difference in your scores and or enjoyment. Now you are at a crossroads. Do you continue as you were or do you sit down, reflect and reassess the situation?
Now is the time to ask that all important question. “Is it really worth the effort?” While only you will truly be in a position to answer that question, before you make any rash decisions, consider this.
Pretty much everyone who has tasted success in golf, business or life in general, will also have experienced a few bumps in the road on their journey. That unfortunately is a given.
When Justin Rose turned Pro on the back of his incredible 4th place at The 1998 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, it looked almost certain that he would take the golf world by storm. Twenty one consecutive missed cuts later, he must have asked himself if all the hard work he had put in would ever pay dividends.
Listen: The Brain Booster with Bob Royak
Thankfully, Justin’s self belief and smart work along with the support of those around him, enabled him to become one of the top performers in the world. Thoughts of an Olympic gold medal, winning the US Open and numerous other titles on all six continents must have been a million miles away after all those missed cuts.
In his case, the answer to the question was undoubtedly yes. Having said that, we only tend to hear about the success stories. Not every story has a happy ending but in this instance, we are going to focus on the positives.
When Karl Morris and I decided to put our collective thoughts down for what turned into The Lost Art Of Putting, we knew we would ask ourselves and each other “Is it really worth the effort?” somewhere along the line.
There were days when our thoughts and words flowed with ease. There were also other days when those words appeared somewhat reluctant to make the short journey from our minds to our laptops.
Thankfully we stuck to our task in a bid to honour our commitment to producing the best book we possibly could. Sales have exceeded our expectations but more importantly, the feedback we receive on an almost daily basis from all around the world, has allowed us to answer yes to that very pertinent question.
We frequently receive emails from our students and people who have read the book, to let us know they have just had their best ever putting round or they have just had their handicap cut. While it may not sound much, the fact these people take the time to thank us, makes all our effort seem worthwhile.
Only last week, we received a couple of standout messages. One from Australia and one from the USA.
Ben Percival is PGA member based in Perth, Australia who got in touch to say how much he enjoyed the book and how applying the concepts were helping him to improve as a coach and as a player. As far as we are concerned, that is a big tick, a job well done.
Two days after Ben’s email landed, we received another one from a gentleman in Alpharetta, Georgia, USA. While we are both fully aware of where Georgia is, Alpharetta was new to us, as was the name of the sender, Bob Royak.
However, as we continued to read the email, we soon realised this was no ordinary thank you note. This was a pretty special one. Bob said he had heard Karl and I on a podcast in mid-July. We were talking about some of the concepts and principles in The Lost Art Of Putting. It turns out Bob was struggling on the greens at the time.
He liked what we were taking about and bought the book. Six weeks later, having put the principles “into motion”, Bob won the US Senior Amateur Championship at the age of 57. What an achievement!!
In his own words, “The poorer I putted the more technique crazy I got, with little positive results. Changing ‘My Story’, using your questions in my routine and concentrating on pace, I have produced terrific results. I had just one 3 putt in 134 holes of tournament golf! And it produced the win of a lifetime. I can’t thank you enough for making a true impact on my game and life!”
We were both delighted and humbled in equal measure. Over and above that, we are extremely grateful to Bob for taking the time to thank us personally. Very classy.
This made us look back to the days when we questioned whether all the effort was worthwhile.
Receiving notes like the ones from Ben and Bob would suggest that our hard work on the days when it seemed a bit of a struggle, made the effort very much worthwhile.
Next time you feel compelled to ask if the effort really is worth it, sit down and take time to consider your answer. You never know where your endeavours might lead.
The future looks bright. Different but bright.
While the summer of 2019 may not quite have matched up to last year’s heatwave, there have still been enough sunny days to inspire optimism.
It would appear that every time Karl Morris makes the trip north from Manchester to Archerfield, he is greeted by East Lothian sunshine. Last week was no exception.
Karl had travelled up to Scotland’s Golf Coast to join me in filming a video to compliment our latest book, The Lost Art Of Playing Golf. Both of which will be available to purchase later this year, as will a video version of our best selling book, The Lost Art Of Putting.
Accompanied by the expert team of Craig and Michael, videographers for Sports Publications, along with our colleague and student for the video, Oli Morton, we struck gold with the weather.
Working with people who truly know their craft is always a pleasure. So much so, it doesn’t actually feel like work. Working in beautiful surroundings in Scottish sunshine makes the process all the more pleasurable.
With blue skies and exceptionally presented golf courses, the only potential variables were the people in front of the cameras. No pressure there then!
While I don’t imagine Hollywood agents will be knocking on our doors anytime soon, I do believe we created some educational, enjoyable and entertaining content. Our aim is to provide golfers of all standards with a book and video that might encourage them to view golf through a different lens. To offer an alternative viewpoint. If what you are currently working on isn’t providing you with the results you feel you deserve for your efforts, perhaps a change is in order.
The golf coaching industry has traditionally led us to believe that if we make a ‘technically good golf swing’, that will enable us to become better golfers. Unfortunately, years of experience would suggest that isn’t the case. Far from it.
Questioning the status quo might not win us too many friends among the coaching masses but we can live with that. The opportunity to actually speak to, work with and learn from some of the best players in the game, rather than observing and opining from the sidelines, has allowed us to build coaching programmes based on facts rather than opinions.
When Karl and I wrote The Lost Art Of Putting, our initial plan was to put our collective thoughts down on paper. Yes, we actually used notebooks and pens! We then realised that if we couldn’t read our own handwriting, it might be best to transfer our scribblings onto our laptops. Technology can be a wonderful thing.
The success of our first collaboration and the feedback we receive on a daily basis from our students and readers around the world, inspired us to delve deeper into our memory banks and the latest scientific research to write a follow up book. Hence The Lost Art Of Playing Golf.
What has been lost? Artistry, creativity, imagination and dare I say the sheer enjoyment of playing this great game.
Hopefully, if you love the game and it’s true history and the real reasons it is so globally adored, you will join us on our mission to help golfers of the world to connect or reconnect with the game we fell in love with when we experienced our first sweetly struck golf shot.
Golf participation numbers may be in decline in certain parts of the world, however, there are other areas where it is very much on the up. While we don’t claim to have all the answers, we do hope we can potentially inspire newcomers to the game and empower existing golfers to enjoy their experiences of the game more than ever before.
To find out why the future of golf is bright, different but bright, explore The Lost Art of Golf website.
TLAOP – One year on
A little over a year ago, we launched The Lost Art Of Putting at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at Gullane.
At the time, we had no idea what kind of response the book would receive, what kind of impact it might have or if we would actually sell any copies! In fact, we joked at the time that if nothing else happened, we could use the books as very nice business cards. It was very much a journey into the unknown but what a journey it has turned out to be.
Thankfully The Lost Art Of Putting has been extremely well received. Sales have exceeded our expectations, it has been serialised in magazines and online platforms in the UK, USA, Germany and Australia. Thanks to Today’s Golfer, The Morning Read, Golf Journal and Golf Australia, we have been able to reach a global audience. We even did our first ever webinar to 144 PGA Professionals in Australia which was a different but very enjoyable experience.
The book has been the number 1 best selling golf book on Amazon on numerous occasions where the 5 star reviews keep coming in. All of which is extremely rewarding and gratifying. It certainly makes us feel that all the hard work and long hours have been worth the effort.
Karl and I have been invited to talk about the book on numerous podcasts which are always good fun. If you had asked me what a podcast was 18 months ago, you would have been met with a bit of a blank expression. I really didn’t know much about them but now that I have been a guest on a few, including Karl’s Brain Booster which is an absolute must, I’m a big fan of the concept. Webinars and podcasts, not something I thought I would ever be writing about if the truth be told.
Thanks to the help we have received to spread the word, on an almost daily basis, we receive notes and emails from golfers all around the world to thank us for writing ‘the little black putting book’. Tour Pros and amateur golfers alike, have given us tremendous feedback about how it has allowed them to look at their putting through a different lens.
The word we hear more than any when our students and readers contact us to tell us how the book has changed their putting is ‘liberating’. It has freed up so many players minds and bodies from the shackles of ‘searching for perfection’ with their putting strokes.
By encouraging golfers to go through a mental de-cluttering process and focus on creating putts rather than perfecting their techniques, our readers and students are now holing more putts than ever before and perhaps more importantly, they are having fun on the golf course again.
We have had golfers from all over the UK, Europe, The Middle East and the USA visit us at the Archerfield Performance Centre to learn more about the Putting Performance Principles we talk about in the book.
The process of writing the book was something Karl and I had a lot of fun with. Initially, we wanted to put our collective thoughts from over 60 years combined coaching experience down on paper (or laptop) and before knew it, we had written a book. One year on and these thoughts have turned into a best seller. We honestly did not see that coming.
So what next? Well we haven’t exactly been idle since the book went on sale in July 2018. In addition to our day to day coaching, and everything else we do on a daily and weekly basis, Karl and I have been busy with a couple of new and exciting projects.
While The Lost Art Of Putting has been and we hope will continue to be a great success, we understand that in today’s world, people look to other platforms for information. Yes you can download the book onto your laptop, tablet or smartphone thanks to Kindle but with the likes of YouTube etc… there is a whole world out there who consume information visually.
As a result, we spent a few days at Archerfield Links a couple of months ago filming a video version of The Lost Art Of Putting which will be available as a digital download in a few weeks time. The videography team at Sports Publications are working their magic on the footage we shot as we speak and we believe this video will be the perfect companion to the book.
In the digital download which will be available from The Lost Art of Golf – we show you how to practically apply the principles and training exercises outlined in the book and demonstrate how to put hem all together. Exciting times!
Over and above that, Karl and I have been working hard on our next book – The Lost Art Of Playing Golf. The print and Kindle versions are with our editor Dan Murphy, who is meticulously correcting all our typos and generally structuring our musings into what we believe will be both an educational and entertaining read. We have planned release date of September 23rd and we will keep you up to date with progress on that.
As with the putting book, there will be a digital video download to follow up and compliment The Lost Art Of Playing Golf which we will be shooting at Archerfield next week. Lots going on at Lost Art HQ.
Until you can get your hands on a copy of The Lost Art Of Playing Golf, we’ll leave you with something to consider. Does the swing create the shot or does the shot create the swing?
We look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Gary Nicol.
Win: A copy of The Lost Art of Putting
The Prize
We have five copies of the Amazon Kindle best-seller, The Lost Art of Putting by Gary Nicol and Karl Morris to giveaway.
RRP: £19.95
About The Lost Art of Putting
Does the stroke create the putt or does the putt create the stroke?
To be child-like is to have a simple fascination in getting the ball into the hole and to love the task of doing so. To be childish is to expect a certain outcome will come your way, that you deserve to hole the putt or that you shouldn’t miss from a certain distance.
The Lost Art of Putting will help you become more child-like on the greens and less childish. Leading tour coach Gary Nicol and performance coach Karl Morris have 60 years’ combined coaching experience. It is their belief that the game of golf is not about finding ‘the’ way to do it but more a case of discovering, or perhaps more importantly uncovering, ‘your’ way to do it. The perspective and concepts they share with you in this book have the potential to liberate you so that you can experience what you are truly capable of on the greens.
You can purchase The Lost Art of Putting by clicking here.
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Competition closes August 31, 2019
Goodbye Gordon
As I sit here writing what I hope will be a fitting tribute, I am literally holding back my tears.
Gordon Brand junior was a very fine golfer who won 8 European Tour titles, 2 Senior, now Staysure Tour titles and played on 2 Ryder Cup teams in 1987 and 1989.
If you want to find out more about his outstanding playing career, there are numerous other sources where you can discover all you need to know.
I want to talk about Gordon the human being.
They say you should never meet your heroes as you may well be disappointed. With junior that was definitely not the case.
I grew up watching and idolising Gordon Brand Jnr. I loved the way he played. He knew what he wanted his golf ball to do, selected the club and created the appropriate shot. Done. No messing about, he just got on with it. Gordon was one of the true creative shot makers. High, low, fade, draw, you name it, he could play it.
Having watched him as an aspiring young professional in the 1980s, I later got to know Gordon during my 16 year spell coaching on the European Tour.
The first thing that struck me about him was his cheeky smile and his sense of nonsense. Gordon couldn’t help but find the funny side of any and every situation. His quick wit could diffuse any awkward situation. He was a straight talker, brutally honest and never afraid to voice his opinion. As I got to know him, I soon started to understand that when Gordon had something to say, the smart thing to do was to listen.
As a golf coach, I can quite honestly say that no other person on the planet taught me more about how to play the game than junior.
Many years after first watching Gordon play in the 1983 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, I received a phone call from him asking if I would like to coach him. I think it was the winter of 2002 or 2003.
The conversation went like this – “Gary, it’s Gordy here. I want you to coach me next year.” Wow! One of my golfing heroes wanted me to help him. I was kind of surprised but I was bursting with pride that as great a player as he was would ask me to be his coach.
He continued by asking what the financials were including percentages etc… which took all of five seconds to agree. I then asked what he wanted and expected from me. His answer was typical Gordy, “I want you to make me a better player over the next 12 months or you get fired.” Brilliant! Not one of the dozens of Tour Pros I have worked with was ever as open or frank.
Did I mention he was a straight talker and brutally honest?!
We worked together, traveled the world, ate dinner together, went shopping together (more of that later), had water fights, were rude to each other but most importantly, we laughed together. Sometimes I laughed so hard my sides literally hurt. Gordon was a very, very funny guy.
One Monday morning during the summer of 2004, we were traveling from Sweden to Denmark, going from one tournament to the next. I think there were about six of us, all a little bit hungover, having quenched our thirst in Malmo the night before. We decided the best way to get to Copenhagen was to jump on the train that crosses the Ora Sund over one of the most spectacular bridges in the world.
The journey was relatively short and uneventful, apart from being “invited to leave” the quiet carriage for giggling like schoolboys. I don’t remember what we found so amusing but that is irrelevant. The fact we were laughing is what is important.
On our arrival in Copenhagen, we commandeered a mini bus, loaded up clubs and cases and headed for our hotel. Half an hour later we arrived at said hotel which was slap bang in the middle of an industrial estate. None of us liked the look of it, so we decided to cancel our bookings there and then.
Gordon had the number for one of the other “official” hotels and took it upon himself to book six rooms for us. Good lad Gordon, well done. Although I do remember looking at Andrew Coltart and asking him if trusting Gordy to book the hotel was a good idea. We agreed it wasn’t but it was hot and we were tired so we decided to go with the flow. What could possibly go wrong?
Twenty minutes later, we arrived at our new hotel and passports in hand, approached the check in desk. Almost an hour later, five of us were still trying to check in. Not Gordon, he was checked in, had dumped his bags in his room and was sitting in reception drinking coffee.
Why did it take so long? Were the hotel staff useless? Not at all. What we didn’t realise was that when Gordon had called the hotel to book six rooms, he had given the following names – Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Johnny Miller, Lee Trevino, Eric Brown and Gordon Brand.
Naturally he had “forgotten” to share this information with us, so when I went to check in as Gary Nicol, I was met with a blank look. “Could it be booked under another name perhaps Mr. Nicol?” That is when the penny dropped. I turned round to see junior doing his utmost to look innocent and not to choke on his coffee! This was Gordon at his best.
Another time, Coltart, Brand junior and I were staying in a hotel near Staines for the PGA Championship at Wentworth. I think it might have been Wednesday after practice / Pro-Am day. We were back in our hotel after a long day on the course and range and I was trying to get a half an hour snooze before dinner. Not happening. A very loud knock on my door put paid to that. “Piss off Gordon, I’m trying to sleep.”
BRIDGEND, WALES – JULY 28: Gordon Brand Jnr of Scotland tees off on the 15th hole during the second round of the Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club on July 28, 2017 in Bridgend, Wales. (Photo by Richard Martin-Roberts/Getty Images)
“You can sleep later, we’re going shopping” replied Gordon. Despite my protestations that I neither needed nor wanted to go shopping, I buckled and off we went. The first shop we went into was a clothes shop. Gordy decided he “needed” a pink polo shirt. He asked the young assistant what size of shirt he thought would fit him. The shop assistant suggested large would be appropriate. Gordon agreed but pointed at me and said with all the campness he could muster “He prefers me in a medium as it shows off my sexy body soooo much better.”
For the record, he didn’t buy the shirt, in fact he had no intention of buying it, he was just bored and wanted to have a bit of fun at my expense. He was good at that. Gordon was was an expert in trying to embarrass his friends and took great delight in trying to embarrass me at every opportunity.
Life on Tour could be a lonely place. Missing family, friends and home comforts was commonplace. Gordon understood that better than anyone and made life so much easier for those around him with his sense of humour and love of nonsense.
He always said please when asking for advice and always thanked me for my input, regardless of how well or badly he had played on any given day.
At the European Open at the K Club one year, Andrew Coltart and I were drinking coffee having just had lunch in the clubhouse when Gordon joined us. After asking how much salt we wanted in our coffee, he poured in a good spoonful to both our cups, despite us telling him we generally preferred it without salt!
I congratulated Gordon on shooting an exceptional 66 (6 under) on a particularly wet and windy morning. “Thanks, do you know how I did it?”
I remember saying “No but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”
“It was pretty simple really. I basically forgot everything you ever told me, did the complete opposite and bingo, 66.” Again, Gordon at his finest.
After all, these years, we kept in touch and met up whenever circumstances allowed. He would send me text messages asking “why can’t I fade it?” I would ask him to send a video and explain what he was trying to do. His response was generally the same “you don’t need to see my swing, you know it better than I do and I’m trying to fade it!”
This would then lead to a long phone conversation about how our respective lives were and what he needed to do to hit a high fade with a five iron.
PORTRUSH, NORTHERN IRELAND – JULY 18: Gordon Brand Jnr of England the former European Ryder Cup player working as an course commentator for The Open Championship Radio Channel during the first round of the 148th Open Championship held on the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 18, 2019 in Portrush, United Kingdom. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
When Karl Morris and I were writing The Lost Art Of Putting, I naturally asked Gordon for his thoughts. In his prime, he was a magnificent putter and possibly had the best collection of Bullseye putters, including a few that used to be mine. Rather than telling me over the phone, he said he would have a think about it and get back to me. Within 24hours, I received an email with some of the most simple yet insightful advice I have ever received. Gordon often joked that the book was pretty good but Page 81 was outstanding!
Two days before he passed, I spoke to Gordon and arranged to catch up with him in a couple of weeks when he was due to play in the Scottish Seniors. Unfortunately that isn’t going to happen.
I will never again be greeted by his infectious grin and his customary bear hug. No more conversations. No more water fights. No more salt in my coffee. No more nonsense. I’m going to miss that. We’re all going to miss the wee nutcase that he was. He will be missed by more than he could ever have imagined.
Goodbye Gordon. Sleep well my friend and rest in peace. Save me a seat next to the fire and I’ll see you on the other side.
Gordon Brand junior, great golfer and exceptional human being.
Golf Smarter – Episode 700 – Karl Morris
Why is it that we introduce putting to beginning golfers we emphasize the importance of pace vs direction, but then as we continue to play better, we then get hung up on the line? This is part two on the book “The Lost Art of Putting – Introducing the Six Putting Performance Principles”. This episode’s conversation is with Karl Morris calling from just outside Manchester, UK.